Editorial
Adapted from a story Eggs and Scrambled Bacon published in HLTmag, 2008, 10/6
Intersection
Carol Griffiths, Turkey
As I come into the dining room,
Two women are waiting.
The younger one, with long, black, wavy hair
Leads me unsmilingly to my seat, and hands me the menu.
I guess she is probably in her late twenties
Which means she is probably married,
And possibly quite a large family
Depends on her income from this job.
“I’ll have the scrambled eggs and bacon”, I say.
“And some tea, hong cha.
If possible with milk, niu nai.
Thank you, Xie xie”
I spend the day exploring Guilin
With its unique scenery, so unusual
It has been used by film makers
As a setting for an alien planet.
The next day, as I enter the dining room,
My waitress sees me coming,
Leads me unsmilingly to the same seat
And again hands me the menu.
But I cannot see anything I prefer to yesterday.
“The same as yesterday,” I say. “Yiyang zuotian.”
“Ah, yes” she says brightly, “I remember.
Eggs and scrambled bacon”.
The teacher in me leaps into error-correction mode.
I look up at her and she smiles at me for the first time.
She is pleased with herself,
And she hopes I will be pleased with her too.
I hesitate.
Her boss is hovering.
If I correct her, she will lose face.
It may affect her job, her family’s income.
If I do not, she will fossilize,
And maybe never realize
The error of her ways.
What am I to do?
There is actually quite a lot at stake
In this ordinary moment:
Two human beings suspended in a situation
Divorced from the basic realities of either of our lives.
Although our homes are at opposite ends of the world,
At this point in time
Where our lives briefly intersect,
We are not really so different, she and I.
I fold the menu
And hand it back to her.
“That’s fine, thank you,” I say
“Hao le. Xie xie.”
As one human being to another
I wish her well.
But I hope someone has told her by now
That it is the eggs that get scrambled!
|
